Not Three and One but Four
by Auron Belmont
Summary: DQ VIII: First in a continuing timeline. Sometimes it takes a while for a party to fuse into a cohesive whole, or so Angelo discovers.


It's Not Three and One, but Four

This story is my take to explain how a rather standoffish Templar at the beginning starts to thaw with the party and become the best of friends with them by the time the credits roll. Based partially off events that happened to me while I was playing and while I was feeling about as crappy as a certain character.

Akagi my name for main character

T for Teen for a rating. Much like the game.

_Why is it that you can feel lost and alone while you're with other people?_ Angelo wondered to himself. His boots scuffed the rocks and dirt packed into the main road near Baccarat. Ahead of him rolled the supply cart, pulled by Medea and driven by the toadish King Trode. Ahead and alongside said cart were the other members of their little band.

"So you actually tried to steal an entire bookshelf? With the books and all? Wasn't that a little…uh…much?" asked their de facto leader, a guardsman of Trodain by the name of Akagi. He wasn't one for a lot of talking, but Akagi was courageously fierce in battle; the chipped razor wing boomerang slung on the guardsman's back lay testament to that claim.

"'Course it was, guv, but I 'ad a plan, right? Someone dared me I couldn't do it, right? I 'ad to show 'im who he was talkin' to!" Yangus, the supposedly reformed bandit, gestured wildly in the middle of his epic stealing adventure. From what the Templar knew, Akagi had saved Yangus' life and since then, the two had been…thick as thieves, to use another stealing expression.

"How could you even hope to not get caught with something that large? Were you just planning on running with it or wheeling it about a cart all around town?" snorted Jessica, the fiery mage of hair color and temper. As was Angelo's way, he couldn't help but flirt with the lovely mage, just that he couldn't help but flirt with any beautiful woman he saw. A few choice threats on what Jessica planned on doing to several of his important physical attributes convinced him he ought to restrain his tongue around her.

This was all he knew of these strangers, really, as they were all traveling to get clues to stop Dhoulmagus. Each of them had a role and a reason. Not that Angelo didn't have a reason to be here, but he was half doing what he wanted, as was his custom, and half following through an order.

Angelo rubbed the bridge of his nose as he heard Akagi, Yangus and Jessica laugh at the conclusion to the bookshelf story. His skin felt warm in the heat of the day. Yes, that's what it was. It certainly wasn't because he felt jealous or…

…wishing he had friends….

No, not at all. He stretched and reshouldered his Eros bow and quiver into a more comfortable position on his back.

Surely he had friends? A popular Templar like himself? Well, his simply delightful half-brother Marcello had done a wonder with his popularity.

Before his brother had been a captain, knights looked to him in mixed measure of awe and admiration. _Did you see Angelo sneak off to the pub and no one caught him? And how he wooed three pretty girls and spent the night with all of them before anyone knew he'd gone? _But then, with Marcello's rising star as captain, everyone looked to HIM.

Not that Angelo cared all that much. He was secretly glad his constantly seething brother got something Angelo would never, EVER want. _Too bad it didn't put him in a better mindset. _

The taste of power seemed change his brother into something even more hurtful. A slow campaign began that took away those Angelo could call admirers and even friends among the Templars. Even flirting with pretty women and spending quick nights in unfamiliar bedrooms was losing its charm. They were one-night affairs that never led to anything more permanent.

In fact, it seemed to make him more desperate for attention. Which is why he'd taken up poker and the thrill of trying (and often succeeding) to cheat. Poker was a game that relied on nothing but your own will and the ability to lie to others.

He'd been ready and waiting to get into a bit of scrap at the Cock and Bull that fateful day, just so someone would notice him! They would see him as Angelo and not Captain Marcello's nuisance.

_I just wanted him to notice me and be important! Maybe if he noticed me and saw ME, just me and not whatever he thinks I represent, he would be kind to me._ But no, he had to get Marcello the complete asshole, who had now taken everything he really enjoyed about abbey life. No one had stopped to wish him well or good luck or anything as he walked away from Maella Abbey forever.

…_.Maybe I don't have anyone who cares about me._

That thought gave him pause.

"Angelo!" Yangus bellowed the Templar's name.

The knight seemed to visibly start. He had the most peculiar look on his face before it faded away. "You bellowed, Yangus?"

"Stop woolgatherin' an' keep up with the group! Or were you tryin' to find some flower prettier than you on th' path there?"

Akagi snorted in surprise and Jessica covered up her mouth. However, rather than retort with a cutting comment, the knight sighed and kept up his walking pace at the back of the group, pulling at the collar of his shirt.

Yangus nudged their leader. "Oi, guv, prettyboy seems out o' sorts."

"I thought for sure he'd zing you back, Yangus," the mage murmured.

"Well…maybe he's just lost in thought. He certainly looks like he'd rather be alone right now," Akagi said.

"Or maybe…" Jessica trailed off.

"Hmmm?"

"Just a thought, guv. But he looked almost sad when Yangus startled him. If he's lost in thought, they don't look like they're happy ones."

Akagi chanced a look back at the Templar; the man was keeping pace, but with a distracted look on his face. "Maybe he's thinking about Abbot Francisco."

"Ohhh, good point guv. Maybe we should give him some privacy, like?" Yangus said.

The three of them walked a bit faster, ahead of Trode and his cart. "We should probably make a stop at Chateau Felix," Akagi decided. "I know it's a bit of a detour, but with all the rumors in town, they might be able to help."

"True. If indeed the stories are right, riding on sabrecats would certainly help us track down Dhoulmagus all the faster." Jessica said. The two men could guess what she added silently in her thoughts.

"'ow 'bout after we take care of all that cat business, we 'ead back to Baccarat and 'ave a few drinks. Give us all a good rest and maybe cheer up fancy boy."

Akagi nodded. "That sounds like a good plan. Really…none of us know that much about him. Maybe it'll be a good thing all around."

Akagi's companions nodded. Whereas when Yangus and Akagi had met Jessica and the three of them seemed to get along alarmingly well, Angelo was…guarded. Oh, he liked to talk, but he didn't reveal very much about himself. The knight preferred to flirting with the ladies at any tavern and inn.

_Maybe he doesn't know how to act with people who aren't Templars and who he's not trying to woo or cheat,_ Akagi thought. Yangus' idea of a few rounds of drink would do a lot to break the ice that still lingered between the three of them and the knight trailing the horse and cart.

Angelo's mood darkened along with the day. The few paces he walked behind Yangus, Akagi and Jessica seemed like the distance between here and Pickham. With the realization of being completely alone, he'd grown quieter. It didn't help that even with the twilight he felt unbearably hot.

_Maybe I should ditch this costume. It's not as though I'm ever going back to the abbey, so why keep up the pretense?_ Worrying about his choice of clothing kept him from worrying about his realization. How was he supposed to solve THAT problem?

Medea's whinny of alarm drew the Templar out of his misery. Monsters leaped out from the underbrush to surround them.

"What th' bloody 'ell? Trees are attackin' us!" exclaimed Yangus, hacking away at the offending foliage with his axe.

A razor-winged boomerang ripped through the crowd of trees and jumping jackals. "Everyone pick the same target! These monsters are really strong!" Akagi ordered.

"Eeek!" Jessica was bowled off her feet by a ferocious swipe of claws. "Easy for you to say, guv!" Before the jackal could gather up for a leap, an arrow nailed him right between the eyes. "Ah! Angelo!"

The Templar helped the mage to her feet and cast a quick healing spell. "Back you go!"

Within a few more moments the fray had died down. Angelo chanted quietly and soon had the other three within reasonable health. Strangely, it seemed to make him feel worse than before. _Not now, whatever it is. Be useful, Templar._

"I think we may have stumbled a little too far from town," Jessica murmured.

"Beating a hasty retreat would be a terribly intelligent plan!" Trode said shrilly from the cart. "Do you really think I'm going to subject my poor Medea to being slaughtered by who knows what out here in the wilderness!"

"Grandad! Shut yer gob! The guv's thinkin'!"

"How DARE you..!"

"Look out everybody!" Akagi screamed.

A flock of night emperors and two very hostile looking beetles surrounded the party. But as opposed to attacking right away, the enemies opted for a more sinister plan. The bats breathed out sweet smelling fumes and promptly Yangus fell asleep.

"Hey! Wake your fat self up!" Jessica sniped at the ex-bandit, all while trying to nail a flying rodent with her Twin Dragon Lash.

Angelo's skin turned cold. These monsters could put them all to sleep easily and kill them without a chance to defend themselves. "Akagi! We need to pick these bats off first!"

"I'm trying, but there's so many of them and they're all strong!" Akagi replied, heaving his boomerang in a line across their enemies. "Jessica! Do you have any magic for us?"

"I got a spell just waitin' for…zzzzzzz."

"Jessica! Hang on, I'll….zzzzzz."

_No….it's just me now._ Fear choked his throat. What was he supposed to do?

But Templar training took over and he started sniping at every bat within reach. "Get away! Go away!" he screamed over the whine of his bowstring.

His momentary outburst seemed to hold back his enemies. Taking advantage of their uncertainty, he chanted rapid fire, casting healing spells on his party members, one at a time. "Wake the bloody hell up, all of you!" he shrieked, his voice cracking. For of a sudden, these three strangers became people he truly didn't want to lose. They were all very different from him and each other, yet…

"What's all th' screamin' for?" Yangus yawned. Akagi and Jessica quickly followed suit, scrubbing their eyes. "You'd think a guy couldn't get a decent…oh bloody 'ell," the ex-bandit grunted as he crumpled to the ground from a massive bodyblow.

"Yangus!" Jessica exclaimed, then launched a Sizz spell, killing another bat.

"Come back to us!" the Templar chanted, throwing a powerful spell at Yangus' prone form. Nothing happened.

Angelo's face drained of color. Ignoring the dangerous situation, he closed his eyes and balled his fists painfully tight. He chanted the spell again and shoved all his will into it. "WORK! FOR THE GODDESS' SAKE, WORK!" he cried out, voice going hoarse. The threat seemed to do the job as the big man got back to his feet.

"Everyone, we need to retreat! They're too strong!"

After the massive burst of spells, Angelo found it hard to concentrate on their leader's command. His skin seemed to be chilled and warmed all in one go under his Templar robes. His arms trembled trying to hold up his bow.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bat try to leap for Medea's bridle. Without thought he turned around and picked the nasty thing right out of the air.

"Angelo!"

Who actually called out his name he didn't know. But it seemed an age for him to turn back around and come face to face with pain. The same bug who'd tackled down Yangus rammed his horny head into Angelo's stomach and using the momentum, slammed him into a tree.

The clearing went horribly silent, except for the painful gasp from the Templar and the sound of a bow falling from nerveless fingers. Blood sprang up from his mouth and onto the shiny carapace of the insect.

"Goddess…have…mercy," he choked before his strength left him and the world faded to black.

"GETOFFIT!"

Before the beetle could have a chance to examine his battle conquest, Yangus's shoulder cracked its shell and sent it scurrying away. "Angelo! You all right?" The deathly pale Templar gave no response.

Grunting, the big man shouldered Angelo's limp form onto his shoulders. "Guv! Jessica, Grandad, let's haul outta here!"

Now almost to Baccarat, the party, covered in dirt and blood, finally came to a halt. With as much gentleness as he could, the gruff ex-bandit lay Angelo onto the main road. "Guv, he took a pretty good hit, but I've seen 'im take worse," Yangus said, looking worried. "He ain't wakin' up, though."

Jessica lightly slapped Angelo across the face to try and bring him around. Her eyes widened. "Goddess, he's on fire."

Akagi, knowing a bit of first aid as befit all palace guards of Trodain, felt the Templar's fevered skin and peered into his eyes. "When we were all talking earlier today, he must have been so quiet because he wasn't feeling well at all." Softly, he chanted a healing spell. "There. That should stop any bleeding inside, but I'm not a doctor of any kind."

"Well that's obvious, you ninnies! Don't you think he feels a little warm in all that?" Grumbling, the toad king shooed them all away to make room. He undid the high collar and unbuttoned the knight's shirt halfway down his chest. "He'll be able to breathe easier now. Take that cloak of his and use it as a pillow. Make some room for him back in the cart. And get him a blanket! He's warm, but he can still take a chill if he's not protected."

Akagi and Yangus lifted Angelo from the dirt and carried him to the back of Trode's cluttered cart. "Hey, grandad, 'ow do you know all about takin' care of sick people like pretty boy?"

Trode didn't respond right away. He reached up on his toes to stroke Medea's muzzle. "That's easy. I'm a father. Having a child of yours get sick is the worst feeling in the world and you learn very VERY quickly what to do."

Jessica purloined a horse blanket squashed behind some random weapons. "Hope you don't mind the smell, you flop-haired choirboy," she murmured. And then sighed when the insult got no response.

"Guv, we'd be right DEAD if it weren't for Angelo 'ere. Did you see how fast he was flingin' them spells of his?"

"I thought HE was going to drop dead when that revival spell didn't work," Jessica said.

"It was almost like in that fight, he had something to prove."

"To who, guv?" Yangus asked, scratching his nose.

"I think to himself. And maybe to us." Quietly Akagi considered the still form of their comrade. "Let's get back to town. We could all use a rest. And…I think we owe Angelo more than a few free drinks."

Something cool rested lightly on his eyes. Making sleepy sounds of protest, he raised a hand to lightly bat the offending object from his sight. Shards of light blinded him momentarily, making his eyes water in response.

"Are you awake, Angelo?" a lovely voice asked him from overhead.

He tried to turn and look at the owner of the lovely voice. Her form was bathed in the light streaming from a window. "Are…are you an angel?" he whispered.

Whooping laughter responded to his words. "If Jessica there's an' angel, then I'm a priest! Who-hoo!"

"Would you SHUT UP you beer-bellied tosser!" snarled the formerly lovely angel.

"Oooooh, that was just mean," Akagi remarked. "Hey, Angelo, glad to have you back with us."

"Uh…." Angelo blinked in confusion and tried to sit up. "What…what happened?"

"You almost got y'self killed is wot happened, knight. We was thinkin' for a while you'd be joining some heavenly choir," Yangus said seriously, scratching his nose.

"Oh…that…" His memory slowly returned in bits and pieces. "Where are we?"

"We're in Baccarat now. We plan on staying here until you feel up for traveling, so don't worry about…" Akagi started, but was hastily interrupted by the knight.

"No! You have to find Dhoulmagus! You don't have to wait for me to get better. You can go on ahead and catch him!"

"Are you daft? You think we're just going to leave you?" Jessica replied, incredulous.

Angelo tried to think of a response and shut his mouth.

"You been knocked about too hard or somefin, mate. You think we'll get far without you?"

"Get far without…?"

"Would you both stop ganging up on him? He just woke up!" their de facto leader scolded. Akagi turned an apologetic face toward the knight. "What we mean is, we're a team, Angelo. It's evident from that battle that above all else, you're our healer. We won't get anywhere if you're not there with us. If that means waiting for you to get better, that's what we'll do."

"Oh." Angelo was not a shy person by nature, but having someone compliment you without any hint of cynicism was a new experience. He couldn't meet anyone's eyes and instead concentrated on the pattern of the quilt on his bed. "Thank you."

"Why don't you get some rest and when you feel better, we'll have a few drinks," Jessica suggested. "And by the way, your room would be so much more decorated, but the blokes here voted down my idea of flowers." The mage sniffed.

"There ain't no way you givin' flowers to a bloke here," Yangus protested.

"Besides, he's supposed to be getting better, not trying compete with nature in a beauty contest," Akagi said dryly.

At first it was a snort, then a giggle, then a low rumble of laughter. It was a stupid joke and yet, it was a relief to laugh. Why? Because as roundabout as it was, it was proof that they were all really worried about him_. I guess I was wrong. Someone does care about me. At least three people do._ He decided to rise to the challenge. Waving his hand in dismissal, he said, "Bah, no flowers and harsh language at a knight's bedside! Away with you while I get some quality beauty sleep. I need it to heal all of you miscreants in whatever trouble you'll get into later."

It seemed to be the right thing to say, if only to convey the sentiment behind the words. With much encouragement and promise of drinks, the three left his room.

_You're wrong, Marcello. I can be a strong man without the Templars. I just needed to find people to show me that._ With that thought, Angelo closed his eyes and followed the siren song of sleep.


End file.
